Sunday, 7 September 2014

Eat Drink Discover Scotland, 12th-14th September

Eat Drink Discover Scotland is here!

Scotland’s largest celebration of Scottish food & drink will open its doors on Friday 12th September.

Eat Drink Discover Scotland, billed as the ultimate celebration of food and drink in Scotland, is a three-day foodie extravaganza, bringing together over a hundred exhibitors showcasing top notch Scottish food & drink, a stellar line-up of celebrity chefs and a packed programme of demonstrations, tastings, talks and sampling sessions.

Not everyone knows there is goat meat in Keith, chillies grown in Galloway, chocolate from Cowdenbeath or tea blenders in Leith – that’s why Eat Drink Discover Scotland is dedicated to highlighting the incredible produce that comes out of Scotland. The show will be laid out in eleven regional zones -, Perthshire, Grampian, Dundee & Angus, Kingdom of Fife, Highlands and Islands, Ayrshire, Arran & Argyll, Greater Glasgow & the Clyde Valley, Loch Lomond The Trossachs and the Forth Valley, Borders, Dumfries and Galloway and Edinburgh and Lothians – meaning visitors can taste their way round the country, in one day and under one roof. There’s also a specialist Chocolate Zone for those with a sweet tooth.

Organisers want visitors to engage fully with what’s on offer at the event and encourage them to take their time, savour the tastes and aromas of Scotland’s produce and explore with their noses. They are also encouraging guests to try their hand at some of the many skills classes available and take the opportunity to learn something new from the professionals.

Wild and Scottish, Strathearn Distillery, The Puffer Food Company and Nairns Oatcakes are among the diverse range of businesses showcasing their Scottish produce at the event. What’s more, many of the exhibitors will be launching brand new products, so it’s a great opportunity to be first in line to see what’s coming to the market, whether you’re a consumer or a buyer. A full list of exhibitors can be found on the website.

With a particular focus on providing opportunities for smaller rural food producers to share centre stage with more established brands, the weekend programme will also feature a ‘Skills Cookery Theatre’ hosted by chef, cookery writer, and unofficial food ambassador for Fife, Christopher Trotter. Starring food producers exhibiting at the show, tried and tested cooking techniques will be demonstrated as well as the latest food trends. On the menu will be chocolate workshops, cocktail making, game butchery and artisan pie making.

Every day’s a school day at Eat Drink Discover Scotland, but Friday is the day for school pupils aged ten to sixteen to quench their thirst for knowledge! Scottish rural education charity, The Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET), is co-ordinating ten food/farm workshops at the event, specifically linked to the curriculum, which will give pupils a taste of the best ways to enjoy Scottish food and drink.

The educational programme also includes workshops that will enlighten teenagers on the journey of Scottish produce from farm to fork and unearth the ‘science’ of food and how we ‘taste with our noses’. They also aim to educate pupils about the carbon footprint of food and explore the food groups that Scotland produces. There will certainly be plenty of food for thought – and with cooking demonstrations and nutrition classes too, there’s more than enough to go round!

Great for taste buds, great for business

Eat Drink Discover Scotland will play host to over a hundred food and drink companies – many of whom are smaller producers and will be showcasing a diverse product line up.

With its strong regional zoning, organisers believe this food event will give buyers a real flavour for Scotland’s produce.

Extending an invitation, organisers are hoping that buyers will attend to see what’s new in the land of food and drink and chat to the passionate producers who are innovating the industry.

In order to help exhibitors spread the word about their brand and take their business further, there will be trade-networking opportunities on the Friday of the event, with a range of workshops specially designed for food and drink businesses, which will be free to attend for exhibitors and other food and drink players.

Friday Night Feast

The Friday evening of the event has been billed as the ‘Friday Night Feast’. Open until 8pm, the public have been invited to drop in from 5pm-8pm for a reduced-price entry to kick start their weekends with foodie events, special treats or even just for a bite to eat.

Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight

Eat Drink Discover Scotland is one of the highlights of the Scottish Food & Drink Fortnight 2014. An annual celebration, this year the fortnight runs from 6th-21st September, during which there will be a calendar of events aimed at encouraging people to try some new food adventures such as foraging, visiting a pick your own farm or even just trying a new product or recipe.

Created to promote the healthy, locally sourced food and drink available throughout the country, the 2014 celebration aims to be the biggest yet. The festival will also act as an excellent introduction to the Scottish Government’s 2015 Year of Food and Drink celebrations.

Eat Drink Discover Scotland has been put together by the Royal Highland & Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS). Chief Executive, Stephen Hutt, said: “Our vision when creating this event was to provide a unique regional showcase. At Eat Drink Discover Scotland you can truly taste Scotland in one day – from Orkney Lamb to Galloway Chillies – all regions are represented.”